Airline passengers flying to and from the New York area experienced the worst air-traffic delays last year, followed by travelers on flights at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, the Federal Aviation Administration reported Tuesday.
LaGuardia Airport and Newark International Airport, at 15.5 percent and 8 percent respectively, had the highest percentage of flights delayed in 2000, according to the FAA. Newark, which ranked No. 1 in 1999, was surpassed by LaGuardia last year after the federal government lifted the limit on the number of flights at LaGuardia.
O’Hare ranked No. 3 in 1999 and 2000 in the FAA report, with 5.5 percent of flights delayed by air-traffic issues in 1999 and 6.3 percent last year. Different data on delays compiled by the U.S. Department of Transportation showed O’Hare had the worst on-time performance in 1999 of any major U.S. airport.
The Transportation Department’s statistics show that for most of last year, a plane bound for O’Hare had nearly a 25 percent chance of arriving late.
LaGuardia fared much worse after limits on regional jet flights were lifted last September and airlines rushed in to provide additional service. Transportation Department data showed that only 48 percent of flights arrived on time at LaGuardia last October.
